UK advertisers spend over a third of their annual budgets on television. Technological advances such as PVRs and interactivity mean that UK households now have more television sets than ever before. British people have embraced the digital revolution.
Viewers are still watching TV en masse but these developments mean they are watching it very differently. As a result of multichannel proliferation, advertisers can target their audiences more quickly and effectively than by any other medium.
ISBA’s members represent around £2.5 billion television advertising spend per annum. Regular updates and the opportunity to join prominent steering groups means ISBA membership is a significant benefit to television advertisers. Members have influenced much of the regulators’ advertising policy and have maintained a constructive relationship with the Government.
One of ISBA’s most significant legacies is the introduction of the Contract Rights Renewal (CRR) price control mechanism. ISBA urged its imposition when the two sales houses Carlton and Granada merged in 2003, to form ITV plc. Members feared that ITV’s magnitude would allow it to leverage its dominant position, increasing airtime prices and its share of the market. CRR links the share of budgets ITV can command from advertisers to its audience delivery. We estimate it has saved advertisers almost £1.5 billion. More recently, CRR has returned to the industry’s agenda with a review currently being conducted by the Office of Fair Trading and Ofcom. ISBA, as a central stakeholder, is closely involved.
ISBA’s TV Action Group meets six times a year and addresses topical issues affecting advertisers. This can range from airtime trading, production costs and late copy delivery, to the impact of the proposed European directive on advertising minutage. The TV Action Group welcomes representatives from across our membership and has its own resource page here.
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